> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.withacclaim.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Sending your first payout

> Fund a treasury account, set up a payee, send a payout, and track it in the Console—from sandbox to your first live payment.

A **payout** moves money from one of your **treasury accounts** to a **payee**. Acclaim handles routing, compliance checks, and delivery on the rail. Your job is to make sure the account is funded, the payee is ready, and you confirm status in the **Acclaim Console**.

In **sandbox**, you can walk through the full flow without moving real money.

## Fund a treasury account

Before you send money, the treasury account you plan to use needs enough balance for the payout (and any fees your setup includes).

* Funds usually enter through a linked **settlement account** (your external bank) or other funding flows your organization uses.
* You can add funds from the **Acclaim Console** in **Treasury** → **Funding** or through processes your team has already configured.
* Treasury accounts are **single-currency**; use an account in the same currency as the payout.

For a deeper operations view, see [Funding accounts](/guides/treasury/add-funds).

## Create a payee

A **payee** is the person or organization you pay (for example an agent, provider, member, or vendor).

* Payee records hold payout destination details so you are not storing raw bank data in spreadsheets.
* If you use **payout links**, the recipient can complete or choose payout details through a secure link instead of you entering everything up front.

See [Payees](/guides/disburse/payees) and [Payout links](/guides/disburse/payout-links) for how these fit together.

## Create a payout

When the treasury account has funds and the payee exists, you create a payout with a **treasury account** (source of funds), a **payee**, and the right **currency** for the rail. Amounts are expressed in the **smallest currency unit** for that currency (for example cents for USD), unless the **Acclaim Console** shows a different unit for your role.

### Funding amount and payment amount

A payout involves two related amounts:

* **Funding amount** — how much is **debited** from your treasury account (the side that funds the send).
* **Payment amount** — how much is **paid** to the payee on the recipient side (what they receive in the payout currency).

If there is **currency conversion** or **fees**, those two numbers may not match. You choose which side to **lock** (hold fixed):

* **Lock the funding amount** when you need a fixed debit from treasury; the payment amount is derived from rates and fees.
* **Lock the payment amount** when the payee must receive an exact sum; the funding debit is derived from rates and fees.

The **Console** (or your **API** integration) will show the controls that apply to your payout corridor and currency pair.

You can also use a **payout link** so the recipient picks or confirms how they want to be paid when that fits your process.

Payouts can be created from supported **Console** flows, **file uploads**, or your team’s **API** integration, depending on what your organization uses.

## Track the payout

After the payout is created, Acclaim processes it on the appropriate network. You can monitor progress in the **Acclaim Console** (search the payout, open details, review status and timelines).

If your organization uses **webhooks** or an **API** integration, engineering can subscribe to events such as `payout.created`, `payout.processing`, `payout.succeeded`, and `payout.failed` so internal systems stay in sync. See [Webhooks](/developers/webhooks) and the **API Reference** for technical detail.

## Batch payouts

To send many payouts at once (for example monthly commissions), use a **payout batch** so you can initiate, track, and reconcile them as one run. See [Batch payouts](/guides/disburse/batch-payouts).

## Sandbox and going live

Use **sandbox** to validate funding, payees, payouts, and notifications with test data. When you move to production, switch to **live** keys and funding only as part of your go-live checklist. See [Testing and going live](/guides/getting-started/testing-and-going-live).